Kurdish Democratic Party

He also founded the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which was to remain the most powerful group in Kurdish politics for decades.

…and two main Kurdish factions—the KDP in the north and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in the south—contended with one another for control. This competition encouraged the Baʿathist regime to attempt to direct affairs in the Kurdish autonomous region by various means, including military force. The Iraqi military launched…

…Kurdish political parties, including the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP), joined. In 1979, after the ICP had suffered serious disagreements with the Baʿath leadership and a bloody purge, it left the Front, and it was subsequently outlawed by the government. In addition to the ICP, several other opposition parties were outlawed…

…negotiations with al-Barzānī and the KDP to implement the March Manifesto failed. The census promised in the March Manifesto had not been taken, and al-Barzānī and the KDP refused to accept the Baʿathist determination of the borders of the Kurdish area, which excluded the oil-rich Kirkūk province. Nevertheless, in March…